REVISION TO THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE FOR THE CITY OF TUCSON

The Downtown Links roadway project is the “last mile” of new roadway that will connect the western terminus of the Barraza-Aviation parkway to Interstate 10, along the northern edge of downtown. The strategic location of this transportation project relative to the larger goal of downtown Tucson revitalization required a companion planning process to ensure that Downtown Links became a catalyst for positive community development, and not just a road. This resulting plan, the Downtown Links Land Use and Urban Design Plan, was developed through a comprehensive community planning process over three years and was approved by Mayor and Council in 2009.

The Downtown Links Urban Overlay District (DLUOD) is proposed as the regulatory tool to implement this progressive planning vision. The UOD is an optional, alternative zoning choice. When adopted as part of the reformatted Infill Incentive District overlay of the Unified development Code it will be Tucson’s first Form Based Code. It will offer incentives to development in exchange for added regulations designed to achieve a specific urban form. The DLUOD will benefit the community by helping to carry out the revitalization goals of downtown and the adjacent neighborhoods. It will enhance the quality of life in the greater downtown area through promoting pedestrian and transit-oriented development, improving street-scape and pedestrian infrastructure, reinforcing bicycle and pedestrian connectivity, offering protection to historic neighborhoods, and encouraging revitalization through compatible infill development.

Location : Tucson, Arizona

Year of Completion : 2012